In Case Of and In the Event Of

In Case Of and In the Event Of In Case Of and In the Event Of In Case Of and In the Event Of By Maeve Maddox A reader asks if there’s a difference between these two phrases: Is there any difference between in case of and in the event of? Some seem to think these two phrases are synonymous; others contend that in case of is used when youre preparing for something, e.g. Take an umbrella in case it rains, while   in the event of when anticipating an unplanned occurrence, like In the event of fire, use the emergency exit.  What is your take on this? The OED defines the conjunction â€Å"in case† as â€Å"in the event that; if it should happen that.† On the Ngram Viewer, â€Å"in case of† is far more common than â€Å"in the event of† from 1800 to 1917, but then begins to plummet. In 2000, â€Å"in case of† is only slightly ahead of â€Å"in the event of† in the English database. A Google search also indicates that â€Å"in case of† is more common: in case of (290,000,000 results)   in the event of (95,400,000 results)   As for â€Å"anticipating an unplanned occurrence,† like a fire, a Google search indicates that the phrases occur about equally: in the event of emergency: 28,400,000 results   in case of emergency: 29,600,000 results   in case of fire: 22,700,000 results   in the event of fire: 19,600,000 results It seems clear that the two phrases are synonymous. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Types of Narrative ConflictProbable vs. PossibleTypes of Plots